Gaming Life in Japan

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Metal Gear Solid 4 takes over Shibuya.

By John Tanaka

Your Gaming Life in Japan staff is walking back to the office from its weekly rounds of taking sneak shots of Shibuya retailers over the weekend, when guess what we should see in front of the Tsutaya/Starbucks building:

No, it's not real. But you really have to look twice to be sure. Still pics don't capture it, but the chihuahua moves. Just a bit. Every now and then, it twitches its head.

The day before, perhaps owing to the rain, the chihuahua had been in a glass case. This proved particular effective at getting people to stare, most probably going through the same sequence of utter shock and disgust followed by delight and happiness.

Too bad for Sony and Konami -- the chihuahua was taking all the attention away from what was on the side of that very building:

And on the building across the street:

Looks like Sony's going to be giving Metal Gear Solid 4 a huge promotional push. That's Sony, and not Konami, as these ads appear to be more for the PlayStation 3 than for MGS4. At the bottom-right of the second ad is Sony's new slogan, "Honkaku Shidou," which translates to "The real start."

Incorporate a chihuahua into that campaign, Sony, put it all in a glass case, and you'll sell some PS3s real fast.